Apparatus for accelerating the removal of cuttings from the bottom of wells



April 7, 1953 2,634,101

J. l. SLOAN APPARATUS FOR ACOELERATING THE REMOVAL OF OUTTTNGs FROM THEBOTTOM OF wELLs Filed .July e, 1949'\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\Y[Il] l nventor PatentedApr. 7, 1953 APPARATUS FOR ACCELERATING RE-l MOVAL OF CUTTIN GS FROM THEBOTTOM OF WELLS John I. Sloan, Tulsa, Okla.; Pearl Sloan, executrixofsaid John I. Sloan, deceased, assignor to Pearl Sloan Application July8, 1949, Serial No. 103,606

l In the drilling of oil wells, particularly by rotary rigs, acontinuous stream of mud iS pumped down through the string of drillpipe, out through passages in the drill bit, and thence upwardly and outthrough the mouth of the Well- This use of drilling mud is essential andiS the lcommon practice. The drilling mud performs variousV wellv knownfunctions such as counteracting pressures exerted by gas or oilycarrying off cuttings, sealing off porous strata, etc. But the mainfunctionyof the drilling mud with which the 4present invention isconcerned, is carrying oi the cuttings. The flow of' the mud stream isnot suiiicient to carry olf the cuttings as they occur, and consequentlythe cuttings remain at the bottom of the well until they are ground downto such very small particles that they can be carried ofi by the mudstream.

This grinding action of the bit on the cuttings obviously slows down thedrilling operation, `and Y further, it causes heavy wear on the bit, andthus much time is lost because of the more frequentv necessity of thelong and expensive operation of removing bits.

Also, as the wells get deeper and deeper, back pressure increases inthedrill stem, and to prevent overloading of the pump the volume of the mudfluid forced down into the Well is decreased, although the Volume of themud uid should be increased as the well becomes deeper. The result ofthis decrease in volume of the mud uid is that the cuttings must beground still finer before they are carried away from the bit,4 therebyfurther slowing the drilling and further increasing the wear on the bit.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an apparatusby which the cuttings will be carried off much more rapidly, to therebyincrease the speed of the drilling operation and reduce the wear on thedrilling bits.

Another object of the invention is to provide Va booster actionvadjacent the bottom of the well so that the cuttings churning adjacentthe bottom of the well will be caught in this booster action and becarried upwardly'clear of the drilling bit.

' A further `and more specific object of the invention is to provideupwardly directed jet nipples, above the drilling bit. to directupwardly moving streams of mud fluid, to thereby accelerate the upwardiiow of thedrilling mud.

6 Claims. (Cl. Z55-24) 2 A further object of the invention is to providemeans for preventing wear on the interior of the drill stem at thepoints where the course of the mud stream' is changed to cause thebooster action.

Various other objects and advantages of the. invention will be apparentto those skilled in the art, from the following detailed descriptionwhentaken in connection with the accompanying' drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View of the lower end portion of thedrill steml and associatf ed parts; the drill bit being shown inelevation; Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view'of theY lower endportion ofthe drill stem withparts removed; y Figure 3` isa detailperspective vView of one of the booster jet nipples; and

Figure 4 isa detail perspective View of the nipple support. i

Referring to the drawings -4in more detail, numeral I indicates thelower portion of the bore of a well being drilledby ra rotary rig.ANumeral 2 refers to the lower Asection of drill piping. As is wellknown,the vdrill string consists of numerous hollow sections connectedtogether, the drill string'being rotated by the rotary rig, and carryingat its lower end a drillj bit. The 'drill'bit' is referred to herein bynu` meral 3, and `while the particular' bit illustrated herein is of thecone type, yet it willV be underl stood that any desired type of drillbit 'may be employed.

As is also well'known, drilling mud is forced down through thedril1'stem,out through passages in the bit, and then upwardly between'Still another object of the invention is to provide meansby which thevolume ,flow of the mud stream can be increased aslhe Well be- .comesdeeper. K

the drill steml and the'wall ofthe well, to the surfacep-Thisissuch'common practice that il' lustration is deemed unnecessary, exceptthat the usual passages or channels, in the bit,'for the discharge -ofthe drilling mud are shown Iand are referred to by numeral 4.

During the drilling operation, the action ofV the bit and the mudpassing through the passages '4 and'onto the cones of the bit, create achurning action of the 'mud and cuttings, but the volume l'andpressure'of'the drilling mud isnotv sufcient to carry off the cuttingsuntil by repeated grinding action by .the -bit the cuttings- Iare nelyreduced in size and weight. As pre-- viously mentioned, this slows thedrilling process and causes heavy wear on the bit.

`'I'he present invention increases the volume of the mud flow and`lprovides a booster action, by which the lcuttings are more quicklycarried awayfrom the bit, thereby speeding up the drill-Kl ingoperation, and decreasing the bit wear, as Will now be described. Andwhile only one form of the invention is shown and described, yet it willbe understood that the highly desirable results can be obtained withvarious forms of the invention.

By reference to Figure 2 it will be noted that the lower portion of thedrill stem section which carries the bit has its interior diameterincreased somewhat to provide an annular pocket having an annularshoulder 5 at its upper end. It will also be noted that this portion ofthe drill stem section, between the shoulder and the bit, is providedwith upwardly inclined holes 6, and that anY annular shoulder 1 isprovided in the wall of each hole.

Numeral 8 refers to booster jet nipples, a detail perspective view ofvone of which is shown in Figure 3. Two of these nipples are shown inoperative position in Figure 1, and they make a snug nt in thepreviously described holes B in the lower portion Vof the drill stemsection which carries the bit. While the drawings show two of theseholes and conseouently two nipples, and show these holes as di'erentlyspaced above the bit, yet of course the number of holes and theirpositions, and consequently the number of booster jet nipples and theirpositions, may be varied as desired.

These nipples are shown as made of rubber or rubber-like flexiblematerial, though of course the nipples may be made of other material,such as metal. A passage 9 extends through the nipples, and the nippleswhen in position incline upwardly and their outer ends turn upwardly, sothat the stream of drilling mud passing therethrough will be directedvertically upward. The nipples are of course removable and replaceable,and they are provided with passages of different sizes, so that as Vthewell gets deeper and deeper nipples with passages of largerv diametermay be substituted, for a purpose which will appear hereinafter.

In the specc embodiment illustrated, the nipples have an annularshoulder Ill adjacent their inner ends. and at their inner ends a flangeII is provided. The nipples are inserted in position in the holes 6through the interior of the drill stem section and the annular shoulderI0 on the nipple will abut against the annular shoulder I in the holes6, and the flange I I of the nipples will abut against the interior faceof thedrill stem wall. The pressure of the drilling mud against thenipples is, of course, outwardly, and this pressure will hold theshoulder on the nipple tightly against the shoulder in the hole andlikewise tightly hold the ange of the nipple tightly against theinterior face of the drill stem wall.

Of course the invention is not limited to the specific form of nippleshown or to the particular manner in which the nipples are mounted inthe drill stem section. Obviouslyr wide variation is possible and, forexample, if metal nipples are used they could be screwed or otherwisesuitably mounted in the drill stem.

To support and shield the booster jet nipples 8. there is preferablyprovided a protecting shield l2 which is shaped transversely to receiveand support that portion of the nipple which is exterior of the drillstem section. This protectingshield may be made of any suitable metaland preferably is welded to the drill stem. As additional support forthe shield I2 Vtwo rods I3 may be provided; these rods having their19W?? ends welded to the upper end of the shield, and the upper ends ofthe rods being welded to the drill stem section. It will be apparentfrom the drawings that the jet nipples and the shields are considerablyspaced from the wall of the well, as determined by the diameter of thedrill bit, so that there is little danger of them striking the wall ofthe well.

As stated hereinbefore, when drilling mud is being pumped down the drillstem the pressure on the nipples is outwardly, but when the drill stemis being withdrawn the pressure of the drilling mud or other substancesin the well bore, might tend to push the nipples back in the drill stem,and the same is true if the nipples should strike some obstacle. Toprevent possible inward movement of the nipples while the drill stem isbeing pulled out of the well bore, I may provide a removable lock pinI4, which passes through holes in the sides of the shield and is seatedin a groove I5 in the bottom of the nipple. Obviously other suitablemeans could be provided, if desired, to prevent unintentional inwardmovement of the nipples.

In order that a portion of the drilling mud owing down the drill stemmay be ejected through the nipples, it is necessary that part of the mudstream change its course, and this change of course adjacent theopenings where the nipples are provided, might cause considerable wearon the drill stem. For this reason and to otherwise prevent wear of thedrill stem. there is also preferably provided a cylindrical sleeve I6which is preferably, though not necessarily made of rubber orrubber-like exible material. This sleeve makes a neat t in the annularpocket formed by the enlargement of the inner diameter of the lowerportion of the drill stem section. And the upper end of the sleeve abutsagainst the annular shoulder 5 in the drill stem section, while thelower end of the sleeve abuts against the top of the stem of the drillbit when it is screwed into position, so that the sleeve is firmly heldin place. The sleeve is provided with the proper number of openings l'I,properly positioned, according to the number and position of the boosterjet nipples. The sleeve is usually mounted in position rst, and then thejet nipples are placed in position through the interior of the drillstem section, either by hand or by an appropriate tool, and theseopenings il permit the sleeve I6 to make a neat t about the periphery ofthe flanges II on the nipples.

The operation will no doubt be clearly understood from what has beensaid hereinbefore. One of the functions of drilling mud is to carry awaythe cuttings. But heretofore the mud being pumped down the drill stemhas been discharged only through the drilling bit. There are usuallythree or four holes in a bit for discharging the mud from the drillstern to the cones, and the size of these holes is necessarily limited;the largest being three quarters of an inch in diameter. I'hus thevolume fiow of the mud stream is limited, and the cuttings must beground very fine before this stream can carry them off. This grinding bythe bit slows the drilling operation and subjects the bit to heavy wear.

And as the well is drilled deeper and deeper the pressure builds up inthe drill stem, thereby overloading the pump, so that it is necessary topump less mud down the well when it gets deeper, while in fact it isdesirable that more mud should be pumped down as the well gets deeper.

In accordance with the apparatus of the present invention, the mud beingpumped down the well is discharged not only through the drilling bit butalso through appropriate discharge openings above the drill bit. Thus itis apparent that the volume and velocity of flow of the mud stream isincreased, and this increase of course accelerates the carrying away ofthe cuttings in the region ofthe drilling bit. In other words, the mudstream', increased in volume and velocity, will carry away cuttings ofmuch larger size and weight, and thus speed up the drilling operationand decrease the wear on the bit.

Further, the supplemental discharges above the bit, are directedupwardly by the nipples, and

, these upwardly discharged streams provide a booster action to pick upthe cuttings which are swirling about near the bottom of the well andforce them upwardly away from the bit. This booster action is, broadlyspeaking, in the nature of an injector action. Obviously the eifect ofthese upwardly moving booster streams is to greatly accelerate themovement of the cuttings away from the drilling bit.

Also, these booster jet nipples are provided with discharge passages ofdifferent sizes, for example, varying from one quarter inch diameter toone half inch diameter. 'I'hus as the well gets deeper nipples withlarger discharge passages will be substituted, thereby preventing thebuilding up of pressure in the drill stem resulting in overloading ofthe pumps.

Having fully described the invention, what I claim is:

1. Apparatus for the rotary drilling of oil wells, including thecombination of avrotary drill stem, a drill bit carried by the drillstem, said drill bit having downwardly directed passages for dischargingdrilling mud downwardly from the drill stem through the drill bit, saiddrill stem having upwardly directed passages for upwardly dischargingdrilling mud from the drill stem above the drill bit, said upwardlydirected passages in the drill lstem arranged close enough to the bit toaccelerate the removal of cuttings from the bit, and an annular sleevetted in said drill stem adjacent said upwardly directed passages.

2. Apparatus for the rotary drilling of oil wells, including thecombination of a rotary drill stem, a drill bit `carried by the drillstem, said drill bit having downwardly directed passages for dischargingdrilling mud downwardly from the drill stern through the drill bit, saiddrill stem having a lateral opening therein, an upwardly directed nippleof rubber or rubber-like material mounted 'in the `opening in the drillstem above the drill bit and having a passage therethrough fordischarging an upwardly directed booster stream of drilling mud from thedrill stem, and a shield mounted on the drill stem to support the nippleexterior of the drill stem.

3. Apparatus for the rotary drilling of oil wells, including thecombination of a rotary drill stem, a drill bit carried by the drillstem, said drill bit having downwardly directed passages for dischargingdrilling mud downwardly from the drill stem through the drill bit, saiddrill stem having a lateral opening therein, an upwardly directed nippleof rubber or rubber-like material mounted in the opening in the drillstem above the drill bit and having a passage therethrough fordischarging an upwardly directed booster stream of drilling mud from thedrill stem, and a sleeve of rubber or rubber-like material mounted inthe drill stem adjacent the nipple, said sleeve having an opening in itswall to permit the sleeve to t snugly about the nipple.

4. Apparatus for the rotary drilling of oil wells, including a sectionof a rotary drill stem adapted to carry a drill bit, said drill stemsection having a lateral opening in the Wall thereof, an annularshoulder in said opening, a, nipple mounted in said opening through theinterior'of the drill stem sec-,

tion, an annular shoulder on the nipple abuttingr against the annularshoulder in said opening, and said nipple having an upwardly directedpassage therethrough for discharging an upwardly directed booster streamof drilling mud from the drill stem.

5. Apparatus for the rotary drilling of oil wells, including a sectionof a rotary drill stem adapted to carry a drill bit, said drill stemsection having a lateral opening in the wall thereof, a nipple olirubber or rubber-like material mounted in said opening through theinterior of the drill stem section, said nipple having an upwardlydirected lmassage therethrough for discharging an upwardly directedbooster stream of drilling mud from the drill stem, a ilange on theinner end of said nipple abutting against the interior face of the drillstem section, and a sleeve of rubber or rubber-like material mounted inthe drill stem section, said sleeve having an opening in the wallthereof to t neatly about said flange.

6. Apparatus for the rotary drilling of oil wells. including a sectionof a rotary drill stem adapted to carry a drill bit, said drill stemsection having a lateral opening in the wall thereof, a nipple oi rubberor rubber-like material mounted in said opening, said nipple having anupwardly directed passage therethrough for discharging an upwardlydirected booster stream of drilling mud from the drill stem, a shieldmounted on the exterior of the drill stem section for supporting andprotecting said nipple, and means cooperating with said shield andnipple for preventing accidental inward movement of the nipple.

JOHN I. SLOAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 762,808 Cushing et al June 14,1904 1,182,134 Bignell May 9, 1916 1,338,460 Morrison Apr. 27, 19201,853,379 Rotinoff Apr. 12, 1932 1,990,007 Sperry Feb. 5, 1935 2,017,834Hummel Oct. 15, 1935 2,085,941 Arnold July 6, 1937 2,307,658 ApplebyJan. 5, 1943 2,485,098 Johnson Oct. 18, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 58,849 Switzerland Nov. 1, 1911 201,368 Germany Sept. 8,1908 541,192 Great Britain Nov. 17, 1941

